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Alleyn’s School

Headmaster’s Welcome

Alleyn’s is one of the country’s leading HMC co-educational day schools, committed to achieving academic excellence within an ethos of strong pastoral care and a vibrant co-curriculum. This fully holistic approach to education aims to support and nurture every individual pupil, enabling each to fulfil his or her own potential while making lasting friendships and enjoying life to the full.

Tracing our roots back to Edward Alleyn’s College of God’s Gift founded in 1619, we moved to our own 30-acre site on Townley Road in 1887 and became fully co-educational in 1976. We believe firmly that learning together provides the best framework for boys and girls to excel at school; to discover new ideas, skills and enthusiasms; and to prepare for university, the world of work and life in general. A burgeoning series of links with other schools, universities and charities, both locally and overseas, provides further opportunities to enrich that learning in different contexts, and to make new friends.

A key theme of my Headship is academic enrichment, both inside and outside the classroom, providing opportunities for pupils to learn new things, extend their horizons, and develop a lifelong love of learning and a keen appreciation of the life of the mind. To this end, we have introduced an integrated course in meta-cognition at Key Stage 3; increased the number and quality of visiting speakers coming into school; and created new opportunities for pupils to develop their ideas in extended project work. We shall continue and extend this work over the coming years, providing intellectual stretch, challenge and enrichment for the entire Alleyn’s community without compromising the co-educational warmth and co-curricular balance which makes us the successful and happy school that we are and wish to remain.

We are very proud of our pupils, who leave us not only with excellent examination results and places at some of the country’s top universities, but also with a strong sense of mutual respect, social responsibility, concern for the needs of others and confidence in their own ability to make a difference. As our recent ISI inspection report (2013) concluded: “The quality of the pupils’ personal development is outstanding by the time they leave Alleyn’s and this is a great strength of the school. Pupils are well-rounded individuals who are self-assured, articulate and confident in social situations.” Do come and meet them for yourselves: I think you will find them bright, friendly, open-minded and considerate, confident in their own independent ideas, but with their feet planted firmly on the ground.

Alleyn’s School is dedicated to achieving educational excellence through inclusion. A wide range of means-tested bursaries and scholarships supports our approach, allowing us to offer places to those pupils most able to benefit from an Alleyn’s education, irrespective of financial means.

I hope that you will visit us on one of our Open Days, or at another mutually-convenient time, so that you can see for yourself that Alleyn’s is a fantastically friendly, well-balanced and, therefore, happily high-achieving school.

Dr Gary Savage

Dr Gary Savage was educated at his local comprehensive school in Suffolk, before reading History at Cambridge, where he also completed a PhD. He was Head of History and Master-in-College at Eton, Under Master at Westminster, and since 2010 Headmaster at Alleyn’s. He is married to Natalie and enjoys History, the Arts, studying German, and following the fortunes of Ipswich Town F.C.

Establishment Details

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